Monthly Archives: November 2010

This next month, and possibly into January, I will be Hosting the “Sweet Nighty Night” Nighttime Diaper Showdown Event!! When I started cloth diapering, I had no idea what I was doing. A few months into it I started to realize that there was more then one kind of cloth diapers! Then I started to hear about how this diaper leaks at night, or this one doesn’t, and I couldn’t figure out what people were talking about! None of my diapers ever leaked! Then Putter’s hit TODDLER age, started drinking milk, juice and water during the day and became a night time fire hydrant! Nothing worked for night time! It wasn’t that she leaked, but that she HATES to be wet! I never even got the chance to see if her diapers would make it all night, because she was up screaming as soon as she felt wet! I was changing her two sometimes three times a night! Then of course, she was awake, so we had to have a nursing session too, which only led to another wet diaper! I asked around and was told this diaper is the best night time diaper, no wait this one is! Or maybe that one? So I took that list, and started emailing diaper companies and WAHM’s asking if they would like to participate in a night time diaper showdown event! I got several replies! So I will feature each night time diaper for two weeks. Every other day or so, I will write a short post about how that diaper made it through the night, the wash, and if it leaves marks or not, or baby doesn’t seem to like it , how much I love it, or anything else that comes to mind about that diaper at that time! The last two days of the two weeks I will run a ***LIVE*** giveaway for 48 hours, so you will get a chance to win the diaper that is featured, after you hear about how well it works in everyday life! I really think this is going to be fun and informative! The first “Sweet Nighty Night” installment will be tomorrow, so keep on the lookout for it!

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This year we will be planning and preparing Christmas with the kids involved. They will make place mats for the table, a menu for everyone, invitations, and decorations. They will also help make cinnamon ornaments for gifts, along with some homemade cookies and maybe fudge. I have a recipe for a Stuffed French Toast Strata for Christmas morning, along with hot Apple Cider, honeyed fruit salad and eggnog, of course COFFEE for me.. :o) and a duck for Christmas dinner, along with some side salads, and other things. Snacks will include chips and a Ooey Gooey Mexi Dip, guacamole and homemade ginger cookies! A lot of it will be made the day before, so we can enjoy our company on Christmas Day. I am planning on sharing these with you all as we do them, or just before.

At our house we don’t really have a lot of Traditions.. we just kind of go along with whatever happens. But this year, I want to start a few new ones.1. I want to make sure that Jesus is more the center then he has been in years past.2. I want to take A LOT of pictures.3. I want to plan a meal that will have us in and out of the kitchen, and won’t stress everyone out!4. I want to go shopping and have the gifts wrapped before Christmas Eve, so we aren’t sending the kids to bed early so we can get it done before 2 a.m. :o)5. I want to spend more hours singing Christmas carols then watching TV.6. I want to buy NICE paper plates and bowls so I don’t spend 40 hours washing dishes!

It seems like every year, we spend so much time cooking and cleaning, that we are not able to enjoy the day! That is a Tradition I am ready to get rid of!

We put up our tree and lights the other night. I usually wait until December 1st, when I go grocery shopping and I pick up things like eggnog and apple cider and popcorn. Then we blast the Christmas music and have a ball! This year, my hubby surprised me by being the first one to start getting things out. He usually wants to wait until the day before Christmas then take it all down the day after! So we did without the eggnog and cider, and just blasted the music, made a LOT of popcorn and had a lot of fun! Take a look!!Yes, Juice Box is HUGGING the tree.. :o)

Be on the lookout for some fun to start this week.. I have a few things up my sleeve!

I was happy to review some jewelry from By Design Jewelry! My only difficulty was picking it out! I had $25 dollars to spend, that I won on another giveaway, and while I was choosing I asked her if I could review what I ordered and host a giveaway for her. She sent me a surprise set of gorgeous earrings… That is all I can say I got, as the other items I ordered are Christmas presesnts for people that read this blog.. :o) Here are the earrings I received. Aren’t they beautiful!?

I decided to let Little Mama have these and model them for me, as I am VERY sensitive to metals, and just had a problem with another pair of earrings from somewhere else, so my ears were too sore to try these even for a short time.. Isn’t she beautiful! And they really bring out the green in her eyes.. she is the only one that has green eyes in our family. :o) Little Mama wore them for quite some time and had no problems with them at all. She had a blast showing them off, and kept telling me how pretty they were!

Tammy has wonderfully and generously offered a reader a $25 Gift Card that can be used at either one of her Etsy stores… By Design Jewelry Handcrafted Jewelry or By Design Jewelry Bead Charm Store.. What a great deal!! And just in time for Christmas! I was able to buy a gift for three different people with my $25 Gift Certificate! Her prices are amazing and her products are beautiful!

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5. Post about this giveaway as your Facebook status or on Twitter, tagging Misadventures of a Family Of 8, and leave me your FB or Twitter ID. +1 for each time, at least 4 hours apart.

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Haha.. no really it was a ton of fun visiting my parents, uncle, brother and Grandma! We had lots of great talk, good food, and cable TV.. :o) The drive down was pretty miserable with the kids arguing and the dog getting car sick, but while there it was fun all around! As we drove up to Gold Beach, the kids started singing, “We are almost to the “Chocolate Monsters”!! That is what they call Grandpa, who pretty much always has chocolate of some sort or another..

We had a turkey, a ham, a HUGE pan of Pumpkin Pie Squares, two types of fruit salad, potato salad, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes and homemade marshmellows, I thought for sure I would have to rolled back home! I ate so much!! I was pretty stiff and sore from my fall down the front porch stairs to get this picture when it snowed and the taco bed in my aunts room didn’t help much, but we made it through!

I just thought the red berries with the snow was so pretty, NOT worth the dive off the icy porch though! This was the view we got to enjoy Thanksgiving evening! What a great way to end such an enjoyable day!

We packed it all up and headed home while everyone was else in the world was frantically looking for the next best deal! At home, we unpacked, and I started the diapers in the wash, Hubby made some chili mac for dinner, and we settled in to watch a movie that made the boys cry. I can’t wait until the first so I can shop for our popcorn and apple cider and eggnog, so we can sit around and play Christmas music and set up the tree and decorate the house. Anyway, I am rambling on, and I have a giveaway to get up!! By Design Jewelry makes some fantastic stuff, with some amazing prices!

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We woke up to a blanket of snow this morning.. the kids were so excited they were all up by 6:30 AM.. I was tired!! So I bribed them.. yea, I know! I told them that if they stayed quiet for ONE more hour, they could go out and play before breakfast while I stayed in and made hot grits with honey and hot cocoa for breakfast! And it worked! :o) Here are some pictures I got.. they had a blast, even the dog didn’t want to come in! She was having as much fun as the kids romping and jumping and playing!

Can you tell that we weren’t quite prepared for snow?? Maybe the kids that are wearing sweatshirts, because I still haven’t replaced outgrown winter coats gave that away! But it wasn’t stopping them!! :o)Have a great Thanksgiving everyone!

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This is an awesome event that I am glad to be able to share with you all from one of my favorite sponsors! EcoMom is a great company that loves to helps others, and this is just another example of that! The EcoMom 7 Day’s Of Giving Event is going to be quite a spectacular thing!

Quoted: “From Tuesday, November 23 to Monday, November 29, EcoMom will randomly choose FOUR ECOMOM ORDERS per day and make them ABSOLUTELY FREE. No matter the purchase size, you could be a winner and your whole order will be free! What’s more, they will duplicate every free order and donate it to Baby2Baby–a wonderful organization that helps support families in need. Everything in their store will be on sale, too, so even if your order isn’t one of the free ones, you’ll still be getting the best prices on their eco-friendly products for your family.”

Interesting Details About This Event:

The 7 Days of Giving countdown begins November 23rd and runs through November 29th – in conjunction with our big sale. Winners will be announced daily.

The donation will be made at a Los Angeles shelter in collaboration with Baby2Baby the week of November 29th.

4 orders per day will be selected at random to get a free order. 28 EcoMom shoppers will win – meaning they’ll be getting paid back in full by for their entire purchase.

EcoMom will take care of their bill AND match the grand total with a equal donation to a Los Angeles shelter in collaboration with Baby2Baby.

Baby2Baby supplies Los Angeles families in need with essential baby gear and clothing for their children 0-4 years old. They distribute new and gently used items through a network of community-based organizations.

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We have had our Inspired By Finn Baltic Amber necklace for almost two months now! Let me tell you, this has been one little life saver! Putter’s has gotten in four MOLARS since we got it, and all without a fuss! There have been times where she was starting to get fussy, and I would realize, OH I forgot to put her necklace back on her this morning! Within an hour, she was fine! I have put it on when I start to get a headache, and it will go away! I wrap it around my wrist, and it helps my carpal tunnel. This is definitely a MUST have item for anyone with a baby, or muscle aches! I would love to get one for my mom for her back or knee as a stocking stuffer this year! My other kids may all be getting one in theirs too! I really can not say enough good stuff about this necklace! It has been pulled on, dropped, chewed on (oops) and it is still as good as new! I love that each bead is tied separately so that if it does break only one bead will come off, and that it has a plastic screw clasp that will break if it’s ever caught on something and becomes a hazard! I love this necklace and simply can not find anything bad about it! Except that I don’t have one of my own! :o)